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'The Goonies' hits Grand Park for LA Streetcar event

A screening of "The Goonies" is scheduled to take place next weekend as part of an effort to raise support for the L.A. streetcar.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — As part of L.A. Streetcar Inc.'s ongoing effort to garner support for the proposed new DTLA streetcar, the non-profit is inviting residents to an outdoor movie screening at the new Grand Park next week that will also serve as a voter registration drive.

The event includes a screening of the Steven Spielberg adventure-classic "The Goonies"; free popcorn is provided and there will be a few food trucks available but it's bring your own blanket. Families are encouraged to pack picnics and hang out on the lawn while kids paint pumpkins and snap pictures in a photo booth.

“This is a great way to showcase yet another great destination and unique Downtown experience which will be served by the Downtown L.A. Streetcar, and to remind people that in order to weigh in on the streetcar project, you need to be educated about it, and make sure you are registered to vote,” said Shiraz Tangri, of L.A. Streetcar Inc., in a statement.

Streetcar Inc. -- whose Board of Directors includes select Downtown property owners, stakeholders and community leaders -- is leading the charge for the creation of this DTLA streetcar. In order for this $125-million project to become a reality, Downtown residents need to vote this November in favor of partially funding the project through taxes.

In July, the L.A. City Council voted to allow the formation of a Community Facilities District (CFD), a designated taxing district which encompasses the streetcar's four-mile route. If more than two-thirds of residents vote in favor of the tax next month, property owners would be required to pay additional taxes that would go towards the streetcar project.

Ballots will be mailed to voters within approximately three blocks of the proposed streetcar route in mid‐November. If residents vote against the tax, the streetcar may be dead in the water.

In order to rally support for their cause, Streetcar Inc. has ramped up their outreach campaign in recent weeks, beginning with the "Taste of Streetcar" event last month and continuing next weekend with the "Goonies" screening.

If the streetcar is successfully funded it will run seven days a week for 18 hours a day. The current proposed route travels down Broadway between 1st and 11th Streets, over to Figueroa, up to 7th street where it cuts over to Hill Street, then up and over to the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

"The streetcar will help create a better connected, pedestrian‐oriented downtown, bringing jobs, services, economic development and revitalization all around the route while helping downtown function as a complete, cohesive neighborhood,” said Huizar in a statement.

L.A. Streetcar's next event is October 20 beginning at 5:30 in Grand Park.